King's Quest: Quest for the Crown (originally simply "King's Quest") is the first game in the long-running King's Quest series. It was released in 1984 and had a huge impact on the world of gaming: It was the first animated computer game (the earliest ones simply had static images), it cemented Sierra as the premier maker of Adventure Games in the '80s, and it helped popularize the adventure game genre and many of the tropes associated with it (for better or for worse).

The plot is simple. You are Graham, a knight in the realm of Daventry. Your king has tasked you with finding Daventry's three lost treasures: A magic shield that protects the kingdom from war; a magic mirror that can see the future; and a magic treasure chest that magically replenishes itself. To find these treasures, Graham must explore the kingdom and solve puzzles. Oh, and avoidrandomdeaths — that's important, too.

The game is best known for its Fantasy Kitchen Sink setting, limited graphics and interface (blocky 8-bit characters and Text Parser), often exasperating puzzles, random deaths and Unwinnable situations (though the fan remake has a "no unwinnable situations" mode). It has been remade with better graphics twice, once by Sierra itself, and once as a Fan Remake by AGD Interactive.

This game proves examples of:

All Trolls Are Different: There's a troll guarding a series of bridges that demands a toll if you try to cross. It's a hunchbacked, hairy humanoid with a long nose.

Knife Nut: One of the first items you can obtain is a knife inscribed with runes. It is possible to throw said knife at various creatures to kill them, but it's not recommanded.

Last Lousy Point: Several, such as eating the candy house; bowing to the king, giving the bowl to the poor couple after saying the magic word, etc.

Luck-Based Mission: Somewhat, in that the game has random encounters with several nasty monsters, albeit always in the same room. This feature is notably absent in pretty much all later graphic adventure games.

MacGuffin Guardian: A Dragon keeps the Mirror in his lair, while the Giant carries the Chest with him. Zig Zagged with the shield which is in possession of the Leprechauns but not guarded by a specific monster.

Magic Mirror: The magic Mirror, one of the Three Treasures of Daventry. It foretells that you shall win the game.

Nintendo Hard: The beanstalk (in the original EGA version, that is). And some of the puzzles as well.

Grabbing the damn eagle in the remake. You have to jump as precisely the right time, as it's swooping down. Though you have to time yourself a few seconds before it swoops down, and you have to be standing in the exact right spot.

Optional Stealth: In the remake, when you reach the land beyond the clouds you can either kill the giant with the slingshot or wear the invisibility ring obtained by the elf and wait for him to fall asleep and steal his treasure. The stealthy solution requires more time and is not immediatly obvious but gives more points.

Oxygen Meter / Super Drowning Skills: If you walk into the water, Graham will flounder helplessly until he drowns. Unless you type "swim" or press the "=" button at which point he will start swimming. He will drown if you stay in the water too long, however.

Reptiles Are Abhorrent: There's a giant snake dangling from a tree branch near the swampy pond, but it won't molest you if you stay at bay.

Thou Shalt Not Kill: Not killing some of the monsters (and resorting to trickery instead) gets you more points, but isn't required to win the game.

The official hintbook written by Al Lowe actually tells the player to kill the dragon as the primary solution. It only treats the 'better' solution as a secondary non-violent solution that the player will have to discover for themselves. Al in the book has a tendency to tell the player to take the least point option in most cases as the primary solution, rather than going for the highest score (giving away treasures, rather than going for optimum item choice). The better options are regulated to 'did you try' section at the end of the book.

You score points though if you kill the witch and troll.

Trespassing Hero: Averted with Rumpelstilkin in the remake. After he helps you on your quest, he goes back inside his home. If you try to have Graham enter the home, the game will call you out and say that it's impolite to enter someone's house uninvited.

Random Encounter: In certain areas you may stumble into a dangerous being (The Ogre, The Wolf, the Sorcerer or Dahlia the Witch) and you'll have to evade them before they get you. There's also the Dwarf, who steals an item from your inventory. All these encounters can also be avoided thanks to the Invisibility Ring or the blessing from you Fairy Godmother.

Updated Re-release: The 1990 version with upgraded graphics, and the later fan-made remake.

Earlier versions of the game allow you to drop things from your inventory, including those three treasures. Whatever you drop is Lost Forever. Ironically, you can drop the treasures between the moment that the game checks for them to get to the endgame, and the actual endgame.

Useless Useful Skill: There is a command for ducking, which you need precisely never in the game. It's only used to avoid the witch, which can be done easier by simply leaving he screen.

It does help you keep from getting caught by the witch.

Video Game Remake: It has both an official one and a fan one, which is available for free online.

What the Hell, Player?: The narrator in the AGD remake likes to call the player out on dickish behavior, like trying to throw rocks at the squirrel or the baby birds, or trying to eat from the bowl of infinite stew right in front of the starving woodcutter and his dying wife.

Except in the King's Quest Companion at least once in each game novelization to kind of Lampshades the reason why none of the Royal family from Daventry seems to carry much money around with them, and generally choose to live without greed.

Gwydion finds a treasure chest buried on a beach in KQ 3 which has inspired a few fan theories to its relevance. Officially it's not the same chest.

Alexander is given a hefty sum of money from Daventry's treasury in King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow. Due to the shipwreck, he's left with just one at the start of the game. The description of the coin does say it comes from the broken and empty chest on the beach its found in, though but it's a different chest. It's only a copper coin minted in Daventry with Graham's face on it, not gold.

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